#Securenorth: North is bleeding

Security is defined as the state of being free from danger. This means that there’s security when one has no iota of fear of losing his life, right, and property in the society he lives. Security provides peace of mind, job opportunities, and encourages investors; therefore, any society that loses security has lost these three essential things.

Achieving Food Security is one of the main objectives of the present administration of PMB and Northern Nigeria’s main pride is farming. But today, many farmers in some vast sections of the North are living in perpetual fear. They are afraid of visiting their farmlands, for the fear of losing their lives; then, how can food security be achieved?

Before the 2015 general elections, North Eastern part of Nigeria wished for nothing less than peace, that was what gave Northerners the guts to come out en mass to vote out the then administration of President Jonathan, with an almost certainty of hope that their security problems could be solved, and glory is to God, it was reduced to a minimal level for some period of time. But in the last couple of months, the security situation has deteriorated to the extent that militants now operate openly, as they give the inhabitants of some villages the option of paying taxes if they truly want to engage their farmlands, in their own “Villages”! How can food security be achieved in such a situation?

Recently, in Zabarmari village, Borno State, more than 60 people were slaughtered like animals, for no other reason than not paying BH levies and living under the Nigerian government. Yet, the C-in-C only expressed “grief” over the unfortunate. Does this means that Northerners’ lives are not too important to him or are they second-class citizens who do not deserve empathy and security.

Throughout Four of PMB’s campaigns, from 2003-2015, security, corruption, and agriculture were his major theme of the campaign. But agriculture is now decaying due to a lack of security that is majorly caused by the corruption he promised to fight!

Indeed, no region deserves such ungodly and kids glove treatment with its security. For the North has the Chief of Army Staff, Chief of Air Staff, IGP, Minister of Defence, DG DSS and NIA, and above all, the President!

A region with a combination of such top security captains couldn’t stop the blood-shedding in their own region; how do we expect them to protect the whole country?

How do we expect North to develop economically, while investors in agro-allied have no certainty over returns on their investment due to the current worsening insecurity?

Our simple demand from the president is an action to fulfill those 2003-2019 promises of securing our lives and property.

• Bauchi sent in this letter through ibrahimsagir1227@gmail